A couple of days ago, Singapore and Hong Kong announced that its proposed travel bubble – scheduled to begin on 26 May – has been postponed yet again.
Since we’ve been so used to receiving bad news, especially about leisure travel, we simply said “Oh”, and continued eating our cold, takeaway Chicken Rice.
It seems that the coronavirus’ main goal in life is to prevent us from travelling, and it won’t stop until it achieves that goal.
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This time, travellers in Singapore and Brunei will have to cancel their plans to go abroad.
Everything About the Suspension of Green Lane Between Brunei & S’pore
Brunei has temporarily suspended its reciprocal green lane (RGL) arrangement with Singapore until further notice.
The suspension took effect at 7pm yesterday (20 May). Until then, travellers who had already been approved for entry into Brunei were allowed to do so.
Now that the RGL has been suspended, travellers heading to Brunei from Singapore will be required to undergo self-isolation at hotel accommodation “for a period as determined by the Ministry of Health’s risk assessment,” Brunei’s Prime Minister’s Office said yesterday.
It explained that the suspension was enacted as part of a continuous review of the risk assessment of all countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Suspended 8 Months After it Was Launched
For those who have blocked out 2020, the Brunei-Singapore RGL was launched in September last year.
Under the arrangement, residents in Singapore and Brunei were allowed to travel between the two countries for essential business and official purposes.
Upon arrival, they needed to present a negative COVID-19 certificate and a letter of approval to enter the country.
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‘Vaccine Passports’ Not A Free Pass
If you think you’ll be able to travel to every corner of the globe once you get vaccinated, you’re about to be sorely disappointed.
According to our Health Minister, Mr Ong Ye Kung, having vaccine passports will not give residents a free pass to travel anywhere they like.
“I always felt that the concept of a vaccine passport is actually a bit of a misnomer,” he said during a press conference held by the COVID-19 task force.
“It gives you the impression that, as with a passport, you can travel to many places. It actually wouldn’t work like that.”
Instead, both countries would first have to assess each other’s risk profile, and whether they can agree on mutual recognition of vaccine certificates.
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But given how often we’ve had to postpone our vacation plans since March 2020, both your vaccine passport and your actual passport may not be used for some time.
Featured Image: Sing Studio / Shutterstock.com
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